Good fundraising isn’t about luck—it’s about using strategies that actually work to connect with people who care about your cause. Whether you’re running your first campaign or trying to improve what you’re already doing, these proven approaches will help you build strong relationships with supporters and reach your fundraising goals.
This guide covers everything from understanding your donors and choosing the right ways to reach them, to keeping supporters engaged and measuring what’s working. Combined with the right fundraising tools, these strategies help you raise more money while making the whole process easier to manage.
Quick Navigation
- Best Practices for Supporter Cultivation & Relationship Building
- Channel Selection Best Practices: Digital vs. Traditional
- Supporter Stewardship & Retention Best Practices
- Best Practices for Testing & Measuring Results
- Compliance Best Practices & Legal Considerations
- Implementation Guide: Your Next Steps
Best Practices for Supporter Relationship Building
The best fundraising starts with getting to know your supporters as real people. Before asking for donations, spend time figuring out who your donors are, what they care about, and how they like to stay connected with causes that matter to them.
Understanding Your Donor Base
Create Supporter Personas
Start by developing clear profiles of your typical supporters. Are they community stakeholders who attend every event? Separated supporters who’ve given before but stopped? Understanding these patterns helps you tailor your approach for maximum impact. Learn how to develop donor personas to better segment your supporter base.
Map the Supporter Journey
Every supporter follows a path from initial awareness to committed advocate. Understanding this journey helps you create touchpoints that move people naturally toward deeper engagement. Discover why donor journey maps are essential and how to create them for your organization.
Build Authentic Connections
Community Building Strategies
Expand Your Reach
Effective cultivation goes beyond your immediate supporter network. Building community partnerships and expanding your reach helps you connect with new potential donors who share your values. Dig in to community engagement strategies for nonprofits that build lasting relationships.
Corporate Partnerships
Local businesses can become valuable allies for both fundraising and awareness. The key is creating mutually beneficial relationships that support their goals while advancing your mission. See how to ask companies for raffle prizes and explore cause marketing strategies to power up your events through strategic business partnerships.
Engaging Different Generations
Connecting with Gen Z
Younger supporters bring energy and fresh perspectives but require different engagement strategies than traditional donors. They value authenticity, social impact, and digital-first experiences. Find out how to engage Gen Z supporters effectively.
Involving Young People
Youth engagement creates future major donors while bringing immediate energy to your cause. The key is creating meaningful roles that match their skills and interests. Read about how to involve young people in your nonprofit in ways that benefit everyone.
Channel Selection Best Practices: Digital vs. Traditional
The best approach is to strategically combine both digital and traditional fundraising methods. Different channels work better for different audiences and campaign goals, so using both gives you more ways to connect with supporters.
The Power of Integrated Campaigns
Why Both Channels Matter
Strategic Channel Selection
Pick the right ways to reach people based on who your supporters are, what you’re trying to accomplish, and what you can afford. Email works great for updates and quick donation requests. Social media helps build community, spread the word, and lets supporters share your cause with their friends—plus it’s free to use. Direct post makes a bigger impression for important campaigns, while printed posters, leaflets, and garden signs help you reach people in your local community who might not follow you online.
Leveraging Technology Tools
SEO for Charity Growth
Google Ad Grants
Google’s nonprofit programme provides free advertising to qualified organisations, helping you reach new supporters cost-effectively. Understand Google Ad Grants and paid search for charities.
AI and Technology Integration
Modern tools can streamline fundraising tasks and improve supporter communications. Explore ChatGPT prompt ideas for nonprofits and ChatGPT and nonprofit writing basics to get up to speed.
Bridge In-Person + Online
Digital Fundraising Strategies
Social Media Fundraising
Social platforms offer powerful tools for reaching supporters where they already spend time. The key is creating engaging content that inspires action while making it easy to donate. Master how to promote your fundraiser on social media with proven strategies.
Innovative Digital Approaches
Modern fundraising increasingly incorporates creative online features that engage supporters in new ways. Read about how on-demand merchandise can boost donations.
Traditional Fundraising Methods
Direct Mail That Works
In-Person Events
No matter how online our lives have become, when people get together in person, they feel more connected. Events help your supporters feel like they’re part of something bigger. Meeting people who care about the same things strengthens their connection to your mission.
The added bonus is that people often bring friends or family to events, which helps you organically reach potential new supporters. The conversations that happen at these gatherings can turn someone who occasionally donates into someone who really champions your work.
Supporter Stewardship & Retention Best Practices
Good stewardship dramatically improves donor retention while reducing the cost of finding new supporters. When you engage with donors consistently and meaningfully—beyond just asking for money—you can turn one-time givers into lifelong supporters.
Combating Supporter Fatigue
Understanding the Challenge
Donor fatigue isn’t just about too many asks—it’s about supporters feeling disconnected from impact or overwhelmed by requests. Recognising the signs early helps you adjust your approach before losing valuable supporters. Review strategies that combat donor fatigue and attract new donors.
Enhancing Supporter Engagement
Journey Management Strategies
Effective stewardship means guiding supporters through increasingly meaningful relationships with your cause. This requires understanding where each donor stands and what next steps make sense for them. Find out how to boost supporter engagement through supporter journey management.
Understanding Donor Funnels vs. Journeys
While funnels focus on moving donors toward a single goal, journeys recognize that supporters engage in different ways at different times. Learn the difference between donor funnels vs. supporter journeys and when to use each approach.
Volunteer Integration
Expanding Engagement Options
Not every supporter can respond to every donation appeal, but many can contribute time and skills. Creating meaningful volunteering opportunities provides additional ways for people to connect with your cause. Delve into volunteer recruitment strategies.
Avoiding Burnout
Volunteers power many charity activities, but overworked helpers can become disengaged quickly. Protecting their energy ensures sustained support for your organisation’s mission. Get ideas and tips on how to prevent volunteer burnout.
Volunteer Integration
Scaling Your Operations
As your charity grows, your fundraising approaches need to evolve too. Multi-chapter organisations face unique challenges in maintaining consistent messaging while allowing local flexibility. Explore growth strategies for multi-chapter charity events programmes for ideas.
Leverage Your Event Data
Your event sign-ups and participant information can teach you a lot about your supporters. Instead of treating each event separately, you can look at your registration data to see who attends multiple events, understand different types of supporters, and figure out better ways to engage with them. Read all about how to tap into your charity’s data and turn what you learn into real growth opportunities.
Best Practices for Testing & Measuring Results
The best fundraising strategies are built on real data, not guesswork. When you systematically test different approaches and measure your results, you can improve your campaigns while learning what works best for your specific supporters and mission.
Enhancing Supporter Engagement
Systematic Testing
Instead of randomly changing things, test new ideas while keeping what already works for you. This means knowing what you want to achieve, paying attention to your results, and learning from what goes well and what doesn’t. Review how to use trial and error to improve your charity’s fundraising.
Innovative Fundraising Techniques
Creative Campaign Development
You can make traditional fundraising events more exciting and effective by adding creative twists. The trick is finding ideas that suit your cause and appeal to the people who support it.
For example, try combining different fundraising methods into one event. You could add peer-to-peer fundraising to your gala (where guests raise money from their friends), sell branded merchandise at local fêtes or festivals, or create hybrid events where some people attend in person and others take part online. Try different event formats to see what works best for your supporters.
Need more ideas? Explore our complete collection of creative fundraising ideas for nonprofits, featuring seasonal campaigns, community events, digital strategies, and inventive approaches for all types of organisations.
Measuring Campaign Success
Key Performance Indicators
Compliance Best Practices & Legal Considerations
Following compliance best practices protects your charity and supporters while helping you make the most of your fundraising opportunities. While we can’t provide legal advice, knowing when to seek professional help and which areas to pay attention to helps ensure your fundraising activities follow all the rules that apply to you.
Understanding Regulatory Requirements
When to Consult Legal Counsel
What’s perfectly legal in one place might not be allowed in another, which is why seeking professional legal help is so important for any fundraising activities.
Key Areas to Pay Attention To
- Registering your charity to solicit donations
- Rules around lotteries, raffles, and prize draws
- Tax implications for different types of fundraising
- Protecting donor data and respecting privacy laws
- Financial reporting and transparency requirements
Different Rules Across the UK
Lotteries and prize competitions can have especially complex regulations. In some cases, you may need a licence from your local council or the Gambling Commission. Others may fall under exemptions, depending on the type of fundraising and how it’s promoted. For general guidance, visit the Gambling Commission, but always speak to a legal professional about your specific situation.
Raffle Alternatives
When raffles are restricted or the rules feel too complex, a free-entry prize draw can offer a simpler alternative. Because participants don’t have to pay to enter, these draws may fall outside gambling regulations—making them easier to run legally. They can also reach a wider audience by combining optional donations with broader promotional reach.
To decide what’s best for your organisation, explore the key differences between charity prize draws and raffles.
Best Practices for Compliance
Documentation and Record-Keeping
Proper documentation protects your charity and provides the necessary clarity to regulators and donors. Essential records to maintain include:
- All fundraising licences and local authority registrations
- Detailed tracking of income and expenditure for each campaign
- Supporter communication preferences and opt-out requests
- Financial audit trails for tax and reporting purposes
- Documentation of how funds are used and any impact reporting
Most experts recommend retaining fundraising records for at least seven years, though specific requirements may vary depending on your location.
Transparency with Supporters
- Clearly explain how donated money is used (e.g. “80% funds programmes, 20% covers operating costs”)
- Share real stories that show the impact of donations
- Always respect supporter preferences about how they wish to be contacted
- Ensure your website includes basic information about your charity’s finances
- Be prepared with a clear, honest answer when someone asks how much goes directly to your cause
- When running raffles or special events, explain any rules or restrictions in advance
Implementation Guide: Your Next Steps
Quick Assessment Framework
Evaluate Your Current Approach
- How well do you understand your supporter base and their preferences?
- Are you using both digital and traditional channels effectively?
- What systems are in place for supporter stewardship and retention?
- How do you currently measure and improve campaign performance?
- Are you confident you’re complying with relevant local regulations?
Priorities
Start with Foundation Building
- Map your supporter journey – Understanding how supporters currently engage helps identify areas for improvement
- Segment your supporter base – Different groups respond to different approaches
- Audit your current channels – Assess which methods work best for your charity and audience
- Establish measurement systems – Track key metrics to inform future decisions
- Review compliance requirements – Ensure all activities meet legal obligations in your area
Build on Early Successes
Once the foundational elements are in place, focus on systematic testing and refinement. Small, measured changes often lead to better results than sweeping overhauls.
Ready to Launch Your Fundraiser?
Great fundraising isn’t about flashy strategies—it’s about connecting with people who care about your cause and learning what works best for your charity. Whether you’re just getting started or looking to improve what you’re already doing, focus on building genuine relationships with your supporters and paying attention to what your results are telling you.
Need help organising your fundraiser? Eventgroove’s charity fundraising platform provides everything you need—from peer-to-peer tools to raffle ticket printing and event materials to crowdfunding campaigns.
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